£180,000 for negligent treatment of dislocated shoulder
In May 2014 Mrs R underwent a left shoulder replacement operation. Following the surgery she had physiotherapy on the shoulder. In June 2014 while a physiotherapist tried some new physiotherapy exercises with Mrs R, the shoulder dislocated. Mrs R was immediately taken to Homerton Hospital for treatment.
The treatment plan was for Mrs R to have a closed reduction of the shoulder by the surgeon who had performed the previous shoulder replacement surgery. However that surgeon was not available and instead Mrs R was discharged without treatment and her shoulder remained dislocated.
Almost two weeks after discharge Mrs R was seen in the orthopaedic clinic by her surgeon. Mrs R was admitted to hospital the same day and a closed reduction of the shoulder was performed. However, due to the delay in treating the dislocation, treatment was unsuccessful and the shoulder dislocated once again.
A further reduction of the shoulder was performed in August 2014 but this was again unsuccessful. Despite follow up at Homerton Hospital, the shoulder was left out of the joint.
Towards the end of 2014 Mrs R was referred to Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore for further treatment of the shoulder. This resulted in Mrs R undergoing a further shoulder replacement operation and additional revision procedures.
However, unfortunately, due to the significant delays in treating the dislocation of the shoulder, all further surgical procedures have been unsuccessful. Mrs R has been left with a permanently dislocated left shoulder, virtually no function in her left arm and varying degrees of pain. She has also been left too scared to undergo surgery on her right shoulder and therefore her bilateral upper limb function continues to deteriorate.
The Trust made an early admission of liability that the dislocated shoulder should have been treated with either a closed or open reduction within 48 hours of her being admitted to hospital in June 2014 and that if this had occurred, the shoulder would have been restored to full function and would have been pain free. Judgment was entered for Mrs R on this basis and soon afterwards the Trust sought to settle the claim by way of offers of settlement. As a result, Helen was able to negotiate an early settlement with the Trust in the sum of £180,000.
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